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Kyra sat in an empty room, wondering when something was going to happen.  She’d been sitting on the soft floor, cross-legged, for fifteen minutes now.  She wasn’t sure what the floor was made of, but it was white, warm, and very comfortable.  She wondered why it was white.  The walls and ceiling were white too, and it felt a little bit like being in a room for crazy people, so they couldn’t hurt themselves. 

Kyra was starting to feel a little nervous now.  It’d been quite a while and still no one had come.  Marie had awoken her just a short time ago, escorted her to this room and then left.  What if no one came for her?  What if she’d been taken and left here because there as something terminally wrong with her – maybe she was crazy?  What had she done to make them think that?

It was then that she saw the murky cloud begin forming just a few feet from her, appearing out of thin air.  At first she almost jumped to her feet, but soon realized who was making his renowned entrance.

“About time someone showed up,” Kyra said, more scared than angry.

Demto finally appeared, the cloud clearing and there he was, sitting in the same cross-legged position she was.

“So why am I here?” she asked.

Demto smiled.  “Today is the day I try to make you realize how much power you have inside of you, and that you have the potential to do anything, just about.”

“What!”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, please.  Now, let’s start off with some simple exercises to begin with.”

Kyra opened her mouth, trying to interrupt him, but Demto raised his right hand, palm out, and she felt a something invisible push against her body.  It stopped whatever she was going to say.

“Clear your mind completely.  And before you say anything, I know you think it impossible, but while it is for ordinary people, in you case and my case, shall we say . . . it’s not the case.  So try now to think of nothing, clear you mind, and focus on the simplicity, the starkness of this room.”

Kyra tried to do what he said.  She knew if she actually tried to clear her mind, she’d do nothing but that.  So she looked around: she looked at the walls, she looked up at the ceiling, she avoided looking at Demto, and she looked at the white floor.  Her mind cleared and in her head all she saw was a white blankness.  She’d never experienced this before and felt a thrill.  Maybe what he’d said about her was in some way partially true. 

She looked at Demto.

“Good,” he said.  “Here’s what I would like you to do: reach up and touch the ceiling.  And before you say anything like: ‘But that’s impossible,’ or ‘I can’t do that’; these are no longer acceptable answers.  I will only accept one answer from you from now on: ‘Yes, Demto.’  Now, please touch the ceiling, if you would be so kind.”

Kyra closed her eyes, breathing in and out slowly, trying to control the anger that had come from nowhere and overridden her fear.  He said she could it, so she was at least going to try.

She saw the room in mind: a box all white inside, with her and Demto sitting in it; she saw the ceiling that was twenty of so feet above her head; she saw herself in the room, looking up and looking at the ceiling; she saw herself reaching out her arm, extending her fingers to the ceiling.  Then she saw herself rising up into the air, ever so slowly, rising up and up until her fingers . . .

Kyra opened her eyes when she felt her fingers touch something.  She looked up and saw the ceiling just above her, with her arm outstretched, easily touching it.  She looked down at the ground far below where Demto sat looking up at her.

She yelped and her concentration broke.  She felt herself falling and readied for the smack on the floor, but Demto was there and she fell into his arms, gasping as she felt the strong supporting muscles.  Her eyes had been squeezed shut as soon as she fell.  Now she opened them and saw Demto looking down at her with kindness.

“Good work,” he said.  “I knew you could do it.  You knew inside you that could can.  The key is to believe you can.”

He stood her up and they assumed their formed crossed-legged position, facing each other.

“Now we’re going to give your reflexes a little test.  Let me point out again that you’re no ordinary person, Kyra, you possess great talent within, I’m merely trying to bring it to light.”

Without saying anything else, Demto began rubbing his hands together furiously, as if there were some dark stain on them that he wanted to get rid of.  A frown formed on his forehead as he concentrated on this, the hands wringing faster and faster.

Kyra could now see them starting to bulge outward, as if they were holding something they could barely contain.  Then they stopped.  Slowly, Demto pulled his hands apart to reveal a bright green ball of light hovering of its own accord.  Demto looked up at Kyra, saw her looking back, and then gave the green ball a light tap.

It flew at a steady rate towards her and was about to hit her when she reached out and hit it back.  The ball switched directions and headed for Demto.

“Good,” he said.

This time he hit it a little harder and the ball soon reached Kyra; she reciprocated and back the ball went.

Demto switched his concentration to the ball and this time really gave it a good whack.  It came shooting towards her and she somehow knew exactly when to hit it, her left arm acting instinctively and batting it away just before it would’ve made contact.

It was like some weird meditative tennis match: they sat as two Buddhists facing each other, batting the ball of green light back and forth (except there was no net), hitting it harder and harder each time.  They soon reached the point where they were hitting it back as hard as they could, each time trying to hit it with more force, not acknowledging that they were both overexerting themselves and getting tired; while their faces bespoke a calm determination: they would not give up until the other did, no matter what it took.

The movement of the ball of light became a blur, and then a solid bar of green stretching from Demto to Kyra.  Sweat now ran freely from their hairlines, while their eyebrows and cheeks twitched to keep the perspiration from getting in their eyes; both were breathing heavily.  Then Kyra squinted and Demto could only watch, not fast enough to react: she brought her left hand into play, hitting the ball immediately after hitting it with her right, adding an extra dose of speed.  The ball shot past Demto’s hand before he could move to block it.  The green ball hit his chest, hard, and bounced off, slamming into the wall.  He fell to the floor and didn’t move.

“Demto,” Kyra managed to choke out of her rapid breathing.

No reaction.

“Demto,” she said again, but there was still no movement from him.  She pulled herself up, unlocking her legs from their cramped position.  She almost fell, but gained her balance.  She hobbled over to Demto and plopped down to the floor.  His head was hanging down.  She put her hands on his shoulders, sitting him upright and tried to look into his face.  His eyes slowly opened.  He looked at her and forced a painful smile.

“Good work,” he whispered, his throat sounded like he’d swallowed glass.  “Do you believe a little more now?”

Kyra nodded.  She looked at his chest: there was a round brownish shape on his robe where the ball had hit.  It was opened a little, revealing Demto’s pasty skin beneath, which seemed hairless from what Kyra could see.  But she could also see a dark purple, almost black, bruise beginning to form.
The bruise would last for two months.

After three more hours of exercises, all simpler than the last and a lot less taxing, Demto announced that they would perform one more and then Kyra would be on her own.
    
Kyra watched in awe as the red spinning sphere hovered in front of her face.  Slowly, it sank and gently settled on the white floor.  As before, Demto sat facing her, in the same position, except he was hovering twelve inches above the floor.
    
Demto smiled at Kyra’s expression, then he began staring at her in a deeper way, as if he were trying to see into her soul. 

“Now do as I just did,” Demto said to her.

She no longer questioned or complained about her inability to do magic.  She concentrated and the red globe lifted up with pure energy, then began spinning at an incredible speed. 

Demto smiled again as he saw it spin much faster than he had made it.  He wasn’t surprised, for she was the Chosen One.  It had been inside her, all that energy, since the day she was born.  Then Demto watched her levitate into the air, and before his very eyes, she began orbiting the globe, spinning around it, steadily increasing in speed.

He was shocked as he watched this girl who had just a few hours ago said she was incapable of performing magic, spinning around at the same speed as the globe, as if they were both in their own world, nothing existing outside of them.  Demto laughed.

This was the essence of magic.  When one, a wizard, performed a magic that was self-absorbing, they really did pass into another world, a magical one.  They didn’t seem to, but there was a shift that Demto could see Kyra was experiencing now.  Her vision of the world of Aisis Lip would be blurred somewhat.  What impressed Demto was that she was unaffected by any of this, and able to maintain full concentration on what she was doing.

The sign of a true wizard, he thought.

Demto nodded at her, and while he wasn’t clearly visible to Kyra, she would be able to see the movement.

Within seconds, Kyra slowed down, first her spinning, and then the ball’s spinning.  Finally they both stopped and just stayed there hovering, then she and the ball descended back down to the floor.

“Right, my work here is done,” Demto said.

Kyra looked incredulously at him.  How could his work possibly be done?  All she’d done was spend three hours performing some magical tricks.

“No.  No, that can’t be it.  You have so much more to teach me.  You have to show me how to defeat him,” she said.

Demto just looked at her for a moment and then the familiar cloud of smoke began forming before him.

Kyra saw this happening and reacted.

There was a crackle of noise in the air and before anymore smoke could form, Demto was surrounded by a yellow haze, trapping and paralyzing him.

“How can you say I’m ready, when you haven’t shown me how to defeat Jolus the Malignant.”  She was angry with him.  “Your job is to teach me, so teach!”

Demto took a breath and cleared his throat.

“Kyra, just stop for a moment and look at what you are doing.  You performed a spell that would take any normal wizard hours to perform.  It would even take me some time, and yet you did it in seconds.  You encapsulated me in an immotile haze, using a paralyzing spell that I never taught you, and I know for a fact no one else ever taught you.  You clearly no longer need my help.  Also, I don’t know how to defeat him: I have never fought Jolus the Malignant, that is your job.  You are the Chosen One.  I have given you what little input you need and now it is up to you to make the next step.  Stay in this room.  Let your mind and your power free.  You will be able to find me when you need to.  And now, if you wouldn’t mind . . .”

She made a mental click and the paralysis spell dissolved.  Demto took a bow as one wizard to another and then disappeared in his familiar cloud.

Kyra found herself alone again.  She stopped herself taking this for granted.  Before what had just happened, she would’ve taken a lot of things for granted, like her inability to perform magic.  All that had changed now.

And if she had impressed Demto, and performed a spell in seconds that would take anyone else hours, she was something to be reckoned with, apparently.  This made her feel a little better about tackling Jolus the Malignant.  But now she was going to free her mind and let her powers take control and see what happened, because that’s what Demto had said to do.  She was a little afraid because she didn’t know what would happen, and how much control she would have.  The spell she’d just put on Demto had been her reacting without thought.  Now she would be going one step further.  But she figured Demto had likely protected the room in some way with his magic, and any possible trouble she did cause would be contained within the room.  At the least, only she would be consumed by it, whatever it was.

She sat in the center of the room and crossed her legs one more time.  Nothing was happening yet.  She didn’t really know how to begin freeing her mind. 

She took a breath and looked around the room and now saw something in the corner that she was sure hadn’t been there before.  It was a rolled up rug.  She spread it out in the center of the room and sat on it, looking around the room again.  Nothing special.  Just four walls: all white.  The ball had gone, and now she was sure there was nothing else in the room except herself and the rug.  She looked down at the rug studying the interweaving patterns and designs.  The entire rug was auburn, with streaks of blue, white, and green intertwining with the red strands like snakes, forming a framing border around the edge rug.  In the center were three circles, the two outer ones smaller, white and green, while the larger one in the middle was blue – the one she was sitting on – making a perfect circle around her. 

She studied the very edge of the blue, trying to differentiate between when the blue strands ended and the red strands began.  She couldn’t quite see it and got frustrated with herself.  It wasn’t that her eyes weren’t good enough, just that whenever she studied a specific area, it soon became blurry, almost as if the strands were moving.  She stopped, and looked up, staring at the barren white walls and then looked back down.  There was the blue, there was the red, and in between it was . . . shimmering.  She frowned and concentrated harder.  Three of the outer blue strands snapped themselves loose, unraveling and lifting up like worms.  They had no eyes, nose, or mouth, but Kyra knew they were looking at her.  No, waiting, waiting for her to tell them what to do.

Kyra thought and the idea happened: the blue strands began unraveling at a terrific speed, sweeping great big circles around her and she could sense that the blue circle was rapidly shrinking.  She levitated up into the air without another thought and watched the blue unravel itself completely and rise into the air, a billion individual blue strands, leaving a big red space below her where the circle had been.  The strands wrapped together into a thick rope, spinning around her, only so fast that it looked like a blue beam.  She slowly began to spin in the opposite direction.  She looked down and the green and white threads were now unraveling as well, soon joining the blue rope spinning around her.  There were now three beams: blue, white, and green.  She looked down as she spun faster. 

Below her was a simple auburn rectangle.  Her mind gave the rug the order and the final unraveling began.  It took a little longer, but soon formed its own colorful rope surrounding her. 

Kyra was now cocooned in the many threads of the rug: an outer covering of red, with three bands of blue, white and green within. 

The room was in a frenzy, to any onlooker, except Kyra who was in complete control of everything.  She could sense the great amount of power alive in the room, emanating from her.  Even though she was spinning with nausea-inducing speeds, she was still fully aware of her environment.  She could even stretch her senses beyond the room.  She could see Demto in the main hall, talking with Queen Anita and King Orcus in her mind.  Demto had his eyes closed and was staring in the direction of the room, relating to the Queen what was happening.  Kyra giggled at a devilish thought, and threw it at Demto.

The wizard was seized with an outside force, and forced to speak in Kyra’s voice: “Hope you are enjoying the show, my Queen.”

The wizard regained control of his faculties, with Queen Anita and King Orcus chuckling.  Demto, on the other hand, wore a sour smile, shocked at the intrusion and takeover of his body, as well as Kyra’s power.

Kyra could fully sense this, but she didn’t care about it, she was having too much fun.  The wizard continued relating all that was happening, while Kyra continued spinning faster, as the ropes of different colors did the same in the opposite direction.

Kyra opened her eyes and saw the all-consuming blur of red.  As she stared and concentrated she saw snapshots in this thick blur, as if the threads were forming pictures.  This one was of Queen Anita, immediately gone; the next of Marie with Kyra.  The Chosen One soon realized that these weren’t just random scenes, but pictures from her mind.  Threads of memory.  Somehow they were unraveling from her mind and showing themselves to her.

There she was, talking with the Queen for the first time.  Now she was going up the elevator (or in this case, down) with Marie and looking at the scenery of Enchantus.  A thought entered Kyra’s mind, and she focused.

The scenes of her memory which were now thick and clear threads began spinning backwards in time, increasing in speed.  She was zipping back through her memory into her past. 

Flying with Marie towards Enchantus, except she wasn’t.  They were flying backwards, away from Enchantus and away from Aisis Lip, and back to . . . her old world.  The world from which she was from and could no longer remember.  Perhaps this was a way in which she could see everything she’d forgotten, and she would be able to remember again.

It was at this point that Kyra became conscious of the fact that her mind and her resilience were weakening; her energy decreasing, as she became more tired, her spinning was slowing, the scenes not passing as quickly as before, and the spinning threads of color were also slowing and becoming unraveled again. 

But she was so close now . . .

There the two of them were, flying backwards, not as fast as before, but still going backwards.

And then Kyra saw it, behind herself and Marie, the purple cloud, with bolts of lightning forming inside it.  She didn’t remember if the cloud had had lightening when she arrived or not.  Her memory wouldn’t let her remember.  This was the point, where her memory just stopped.  It was this purple cloud.  She had to get beyond it, and once she crossed that boundary, all her memories would become hers again.

Kyra prepared herself for this revelation, summing her reserves of energy; her self and Marie shot back and disappeared into the cloud.  Kyra on the other hand didn’t pass through with them.  Whatever was controlling the cloud had made it one-way.  But she refused to accept this.  She forced herself to see the next scene beyond the cloud, just one snippet, one snapshot of her old world. 

Nothing happened. 

There were no longer any threads of memory showing themselves to her. 

She summoned all her power, willing it to happen.  There was a great flash of white light, blinding her.  A crack of thunder exploded out of the threads, then Kyra lost control of everything.  The spinning stopped, while she and all the threads plummeted to the ground.

It was a painful landing, but Kyra was just bruised.  She picked herself up carefully and rested in a sitting position.  She brought her knees to her chest protectively, and rested her head on them.  The entire room was in a shambles: white, blue, green thread mixed up everywhere, along with a sea of red obscuring all.

Kyra tried to take a breath, but it broke midway and she began to cry.  Her effort to remember had failed, and she had no idea why she couldn’t remember or why this had failed.

She was the Chosen One.

She wasn’t supposed to fail at anything.  Was she?

She didn’t know.

But there was someone who might, or at least should know something.

Kyra having regained her strength, focused her remaining powers and quickly stood up.  She ran from the room, slamming the door behind her.

In its solitude, the room began to put the rug back together, rethreading the colors to their original design. 

As Demto was discussing what had just happened with Queen Anita, there was a static burst of sound along with the slamming of the door, and there stood Kyra, fuming at them

“You,” she said jabbing her finger at Demto.  “You must know something about why I have no memory about where I came from, and you must know why it’s happening.” 

Demto just looked at her, defiantly, feeling it was not his duty to answer these questions, and having been asked in such an uncouth way, he wasn’t going to offer any sort of response anyway.

“My dear Kyra,” Queen Anita began, breaking the tension, her voice a tranquilizer.  “Our problem is that none of us has any real idea why you cannot remember anything from your past, from your own world.  Even Demto has been unable to find out, although he has been working hard trying to find any sort of clue that might lead us to an answer.  Sadly he has found nothing, yet.  So do not take it out on him, and do not take it out on anyone else.

“If there’s anyone deserving of blame it is me, for I was the one who sent Marie to you, to pick you up from the beach in your world, in a place called Huntington Beach, and bring you to Aisis Lip.  And you must be wondering how I should have known to do this, since nothing is said of it in the Scriptures. 

“It came to me in a vision,” Queen Anita said, “just three nights ago.  I found myself within a deep dark cave.  There were two torches: one on each wall, dimly lighting the cave.  So everything was in shadows.  On the floor was yellow sand, which I have never seen before.  But there was very little there: some animal skins near the back of the cave.  I could not tell what animals.  There were some sacks against one wall, but nothing else.  And then before me appeared an old man.  I had never seen him before and I have never had him described to me by any member of my family or in any of the books I have read.  He is a complete stranger to me.

“As I said, he was old.  Wrinkled and leaning his weight on a staff, but there was a bright light in his blue eyes that spoke of a great power and strength within him.  He wore a blue robe that matched his eyes and my immediate thought was that he was a magician like Demto.  And considering how he appeared to me out of thin air, I still believe this to be true. 
    
“He told me that within three days the prophecy would come true.  The prophecy written down in the Scriptures about the Chosen One would come to be.  He told me that the Chosen One would be ready, and that I would need to send someone to fetch you.  A doorway would open up in the sky and I would know because I would feel it.  Everyone would feel it.  It would sweep like a disturbance deep within the ground, sweeping throughout Aisis Lip.  Everyone would sense that something critical had happened to Aisis Lip.  ‘This has just happened once before in history.  You need to collect the Chosen One and bring her to Aisis Lip, for she is the world’s only choice.’
    
“Then he disappeared, just as quickly as he had appeared.  I turned from the back of the cave and saw the darkness stretching out to a bright light, which was the opening of the cave.  I ran towards it and soon passed out into the light.  I looked around and saw I was on a hill and below me was a coastline where a great ocean lay before it, and a small town.  A town that was totally unfamiliar to me.  I recognized nothing.  Then my vision ended and I slept once more.”
    
Queen Anita now had a servant bring her a drink, to moisten her throat, then she continued.
    
“In three days, I felt it.  We all felt it.  A little into the morning there was a vibration in the air, like an invisible shaking, and everyone stopped what they were doing.  By the afternoon, the stories came in from the southwest of the kingdom.  The people reported that a great rip had high above them, tearing through the very essence of the sky, and through it the people saw another world that was completely different.  Then the rip was enveloped in a thick, solid purple cloud.  Marie passed through this cloud and through the rip to reach you.”
    
Kyra looked around at everyone and saw that Marie had joined them.  She turned to the giant bird.
    
“How did you know where to find me,” she asked.
    
Marie looked around at the others and then took a breath.
    
“When I passed a’through the purple cloud, as a’soon as I was a’through the other side, I a’felt a pulsing in my a’head.  It was telling me, a’guiding me.  And I a’followed it: the pulses increased the a’closer I got to you.  And then I a’saw you on the a’beach, all alone, and a’knew it was a’you.”
    
Kyra looked at each of them again.  This had helped, a little.  Some questions had been answered the best they could.  But many other questions had replaced the answered ones.
    
“When the magician mentioned about the disturbance happening once before,” said Kyra, “what do you think he meant by this?”
    
“We have all discussed this,” Demto said.  “And I believe, as does everyone else, that the first disturbance the magician was referring to was a long time ago, when the same thing happened: a rip formed in the fabric of reality in a land far away from here, when Jolus the Malignant first stepped into this world and began to build his army and power.  Little first-hand information survives from that time, but from what I have been able to discover, the reports are very similar of a physical trembling in the air.  And this makes sense: these errant events happen on the two most important events in the history Aisis Lip.”
    
Kyra had some answers now, but still felt that she knew so little; that was because they all knew as much as she did.  She took a breath.
    
“So who was this magician?”
    
This wasn’t directed at anyone, but they all looked at each other in confusion.  Finally, Queen Anita spoke:
    
“We simply do not know.  I recognized nothing of the land where I had the vision, so I suspect it was another part of Aisis Lip where I have never been before, perhaps even on the other side of the continental mass.  We simply do not know.”
    
“What we do know,” Demto said, “is that Jolus the Malignant is now almost strong enough to begin his takeover and you must begin your quest very soon.  He will know that you are coming for him, just as everyone else felt the disturbance, he certainly did, and will be more familiar with it.  He will know you are coming for him and will be ready for you.  I doubt very much that he will begin his attack before then.  But he will do everything within his power to stop you.”

Kyra looked at Demto, felt her eyes moisten and her vision became blurry, she covered her face in her hands. 

“And it is now that you must begin your journey, your quest to stop Jolus the Malignant.  We, of course, cannot help you in any way, for we have no means of defending ourselves, except Demto who is not an older and wiser, but less powerful wizard.  He has instructed you as he has seen fit, and you know all you can from him.  In your quest to find and destroy Jolus the Malignant, you will likely discover and learn many more talents and skills that will be needed to fight against him.  Everything is ultimately up to you and what you choose to do.”

Queen Anita stopped now, letting Kyra take this in.  As she expected, the girl said and did nothing, accepting her role wholeheartedly.

“You can use this to contact us,” Orcus said; as he held up a clear crystal orb the size of a small melon.  “I know you will probably not need out help, and there will be little we can do, but if you need us, you can use this.”

“I would advise you contact us or me at least when you reach the lair of Jolus the Malignant,” Demto said, “so I may prepare you by what means I am able.”

“And that is all, my dear,” the Queen said.  “All we can do now is offer you the greatest of luck and hope, and to let you know that we have the utmost confidence in you, for it was predicted in the Scriptures that you would come and save us all, so we are all certain you shall prevail.”

Demto stepped away from the throne area and started passing his hands over each other, muttering specific words: seconds later a portal of flashing white light opened before him.

“And now you must pass through this portal, for it is not safe for you to leave the palace through normal means.  Once the Enchantans discover you are leaving, they will try to stop you, for they love you so, and do not want to see you go and risk harming yourself.”

Kyra just looked at Demto and understood that she didn’t have a choice in the matter.  She stepped up to the Queen and bowed.

Queen Anita stood up and took Kyra into her arms, hugging her tightly.  She whispered in her ear: “You will defeat him, do not fear.  It is written that you will, and I believe in you, my daughter.”

Kyra looked at the Queen, but didn’t say anything.  She wasn’t sure that the Queen had spoken correctly, but the endearment had been so strong that she didn’t want to break the feeling.  She stepped away and saw a tear fall from the Queen’s eye.  Kyra didn’t let her resilience fall; turned and headed for the portal. 

Marie stepped up to her as she approached the flashing gateway.  The oversized pigeon handed her a woven satchel.

“In here is a’some food and some a’things I thought you a’might need.  How I a’wish I could go with ye, but I a’would simply hinder you.  A’make us all proud, my a’dear Kyra.” 

Kyra could hear the bursting emotion in Marie’s voice, and while she didn’t see any tears falling from her eyes, she figured that Marie was physically unable to cry.  Yet she could hear that Marie was crying inside, in her frail, shaky voice.

She took the satchel and placed the globe inside it, redoing the tie and then slinging it on her back.  She felt the soft bump of the globe hit her back, cushioned against the articles inside.  She smiled at Marie and hugged her tightly.  It was odd hugging someone with so many feathers.